Cal Raleigh waves to the crowd after hitting his 54th home run of the season. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run of the season, tying Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch hitter set in 1961, as the Seattle Mariners took sole possession of first place in the American League West with an 11-2 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.
Jorge Polanco tied a franchise record with three doubles and Julio Rodriguez added two more with two runs and two RBIs as the Mariners (82-68) won their ninth game in a row.
Randy Arozarena led off the bottom of the first with a single and Raleigh hit the next pitch from Kyle Hendricks, a sinker on the outside corner, 409ft into the Seattle bullpen in left-center field.
Raleigh said he had talked about the record with his father. “I remember him talking about [Mantle] like he was a god. Which he was,” Raleigh said of visiting Yankee Stadium with his father when he was younger. “It’s kind of cool to think about that.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson paid tribute to Raleigh’s attitude. “To do what he has done offensively, to do what he does defensively, to do what he does with our pitching staff, you just marvel at all the things that he’s accomplishing,” Wilson said. “On top of that, making history, and just in a very humble way, that’s the kind of guy he is. He just wants to win, and that’s where it all comes from. That’s the driver.”
The Mariners’ last division title came in 2001, when they won 116 games. Raleigh said he is concentrating on helping his team end their drought.
“You know, in today’s age it’s hard not to go on your phone and people are talking about it, texting you about it,” Raleigh said. “I’m trying to do my best to block that out. I’m glad that we have something bigger to work towards.”
Will Warren allowed five straight hits to begin the game in a six-run first inning, putting the Yankees in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night at Fenway Park.
New York smacked three home runs and had a chance with the tying run at the plate with nobody out in the eighth, but couldn't complete the three-game sweep. The Yanks leave Beantown with an 83-66 record. Boston improved to 82-68, to move to 1.5 games behind for the top AL Wild Card spot. With Toronto completing a three-game sweep of Baltimore on Sunday, the Yankees are now 4.0 games behind the Jays for first in the AL East.
Here are the takeaways...
- Giancarlo Stanton made his second start of the series in left field and made a hash of things immediately, overrunning a flyball as it fell short of the Green Monster, resulting in a leadoff triple for Jarren Duran in the home half of the first.
Boston made Warren pay for Stanton’s blunder: Alex Bregman took a fastball on the inside corner up the middle for an RBI single, Trevor Story sharply slapped single through the right side of the infield, Nathaniel Lowe got jammed but muscled a soft liner through the right side to plate another run, and Romy Gonzalez drove an RBI double to right to put two in scoring position and pitching coach Matt Blake was out for a visit after five straight hits on the first 14 pitches of the night.
Masataka Yoshida notched a sacrifice fly to center (one pitch after the Yanks failed to come up with a pop fly in foul territory down the right field line) and a Rob Refsnyder grounder to second, trading two more runs for the first two outs. But Warren fell behind 2-1 to Carlos Narvaez, who demolished a high, 95 mph fastball to centerfield for a 403-foot home run to round out the six-run first.
The Yankee righty settled in the second before a swinging bunt and walk put two on with two outs. It took Austin Slater making a diving catch after a long run on a ball to shallow right to keep Boston off the board in the second. He got six of the next seven Sox batters, allowing only a leadoff single in the third.
Warren was in a spot of bother with one out in the fifth after back-to-back singles, but he froze Refsnyder with a sweeper and got Narvaez to ground out to short. After the first, Warren stranded five runners and held Boston to 0-for-3 with RISP. His final line: 5.0 innings, six runs on 10 hits and a walk with two strikeouts on 89 pitches (59 strikes).
- Aaron Judge swung through a pair of fastballs before chasing a breaking pitch low and away to go down swinging in his first at-bat against Boston ace Garrett Crochet. Judge swung through a two fastball his second time up to again fall behind 1-2 with two outs and a runner on second base in the third, this time he worked the count full, but again went down swinging on a breaking pitch in the dirt.
With two outs in the fifth, the reigning AL MVP won the third matchup, smacking a first-pitch fastball up and away 400 feet into Boston’s bullpen in right for a solo home run. It was Judge’s 48th long ball of the year (112.7 mph off the bat) for his 102nd RBI to cut the deficit to three runs.
He rocketed a single in the eighth (113.5 mph) to finish the day 2-for-4.
- The Yanks first got to Crochet in the fourth as Stanton smashed a 110.9 mph single with one out and Amed Rosario got a sweeper down and clocked it just over the Monster for a two-run shot. Paul Goldschmidt, who walked his first time up, singled, but the three straight hits were all the Bombers could muster. Goldschmidt finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk.
- The Yanks were glad to see Crochet exit in the sixth and Jose Caballero, who struck out twice off the starter, got a 1-0 sinker right over the plate from reliver Steven Matz and hit it out of the stadium over the Monster in left, 423 feet (108.1 mph). The one-out homer made it four unanswered for the visitors after they fell behind by a half dozen in the first.
- Out of the bullpen, Camilo Doval picked up two strikeouts in a clean sixth, Mark Leiter Jr. worked around a one-out single with a double play in a scoreless seventh, and Paul Blackburn got around a one-out single in eighth, thanks to a really fine play by Caballero up the middle for the final out.
- After Judge’s leadoff single in the eighth off reliever Garrett Whitlock, the Yanks had the tying run at the plate, but Cody Bellinger went down looking, Stanton looking, and pinch-hitter Trent Grisham swinging.
Bellinger finished hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. Stanton finished the day 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Arroldis Chapman made no mistakes in the ninth, throwing 10 strikes on 11 pitches with a couple of groundouts and a strikeout swinging on a 101.5 mph fastball past Caballero to end it.
Game MVP: Garrett Crochet
Crochet, who is tough against everybody, was tough on the Yanks. Aside from the two dingers, the left-hander racked up 12 strikeouts, getting Slater three times, Judge, Stanton, and Caballero twice each, as well as Rosario, Bellinger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The Sox southpaw got 23 whiffs on 52 swings (44 percent) and another 14 called strikes, en route to needing 99 pitches to get 18 outs.
The Yankees head to Minnesota for a three-game series against the Twins, starting on Monday night with a 7:40 p.m. first pitch as MLB celebrates Roberto Clemente Day.
The pitching matchups for the series: Carlos Rodon vs. Simeon Woods Richardson, Cam Schlittler vs. Zebby Matthews, and Luis Gil vs. Taj Bradley.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts rounds third base to score on an RBI double from Freddie Freeman against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
This is the time to bring on the rivals. The Dodgers are used to taking on challengers down the pennant stretch: the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres — and, in a previous version of the National League West, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
The final two weeks of the regular season are upon us. The Dodgers have one remaining head-to-head matchup that really matters — and that series starts Monday at Dodger Stadium, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies?
The Phillies have not been realigned into the NL West. However, although the three division champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, the two with the best records earn a bye into the division series. The division champion with the third-best record — right now, that would be the Dodgers — must play in the first round.
The Milwaukee Brewers, the presumed champions of the NL Central, boast the best record in baseball. The Phillies, the presumed champions of the NL East, lead the Dodgers by 4 ½ games. The Dodgers have 13 games to play.
The Dodgers got a bye and lost in the division series in 2022. They got a bye and lost in the division series in 2023. They got a bye and came within one game of elimination in the division series in 2024. Would they be better off not getting a bye and playing in the first round?
“There is not a question in my mind that that does not make sense,” Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, told me last week. “It is better for your World Series odds to not play those three games.”
The five days off that come with a bye can disrupt the timing of hitters. They also can allow time for injured and weary players to recover — that could be critical for Dodgers catcher Will Smith, in particular — and for the Dodgers to arrange their starting rotation just the way they might like it. And, of course, you can’t be eliminated in the first round if you don’t play in it.
“We have made our life more difficult to this point,” Friedman said, “but I still think we have a really good run in us, and we’ll make it competitive. So obviously these three games against Philly are really important in that.”
What if the three games against the Phillies go poorly?
Even if they don’t, the Dodgers might not win the division. The Padres are closer to the Dodgers than the Dodgers are to the Phillies.
San Diego trails the Dodgers by 2½ games in the NL West.
If the Padres win the NL West, how much would that hurt the Dodgers’ chances of a lengthy postseason run?
Not much, if at all. Both teams almost certainly would end up in the wild-card round.
The NL West champion would play the last team into the NL field, most likely the Giants or New York Mets and maybe even the Reds or Arizona Diamondbacks, with the chance the opponent exhausted its pitching just to get into the playoffs. The other team would play the Chicago Cubs, and would avoid the possibility of facing the surging Phillies until the NLCS.
If the NL West comes down to the last day or two, the Dodgers would have to determine whether to use their best starters on that final weekend or line them up for the wild-card series.
In that scenario, what might be the decisive factor in the Dodgers’ calculus?
The NL West champion would play all three games of the wild-card round at home; the runner-up likely would play all three games on the road. The Dodgers are 48-26 at home, 36-39 on the road. (The Padres are 47-28 at home, 35-40 on the road.)
Would there be any precedent for the Dodgers not minding if the Padres won the NL West?
In 1996, the Dodgers and Padres were tied for the NL West lead heading into the final day of the regular season, with the two teams facing one another. Both teams were guaranteed a playoff spot.
The Padres won the game, and with it the division. The Dodgers started Martinez in their playoff opener three days later. They lost that game, and they were swept in the series by the Braves. The winning pitchers in that series, in order: John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.
In Friedman’s previous 10 seasons running the Dodgers, what is the fewest number of games they have won?
Ninety-one, in 2016.
How did the Dodgers do that October?
They earned a bye into the division series, in which they beat the Washington Nationals. They lost to the Chicago Cubs in the league championship series.
The Dodgers' Mookie Betts, center, celebrates with Kiké Hernández after scoring on Miguel Rojas' single during the sixth inning. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
The Dodgers have gotten back to the basics this week, preaching the importance of the little things in daily hitters’ meetings, in-game dugout conversations and even simulated drills in early batting practice sessions.
After a 2 ½ month slump over the second half of the season, they were searching for a more dependable style of offense. Like simplifying their approach at the plate. Shortening up swings and using the big part of the field with two strikes. Capitalizing on situational opportunities with runners on base. And making sure that, amid a resurgence from their rotation, they were finding ways to more consistently manufacture runs.
This weekend in San Francisco, they finally enjoyed the fruits of those labors, blowing out the Giants 10-2 on Sunday to win a three-game series and remain 2 ½ games up in the National League West standings.
“Quality of at-bat, winning pitches, using the whole field, not punching [out] — I think all those things, you know it’s in there,” manager Dave Roberts said, after the Dodgers racked up 18 hits, worked six walks and scored in six of their nine trips to the plate.
“We’ve seen it. Maybe not with the consistency we would’ve liked. But when you’re facing really good arms, to see us do what we did... it’s certainly encouraging.”
Indeed, coming off a 13-run outburst Saturday night, the Dodgers picked up right where they left off at Oracle Park on Sunday afternoon, slowly sucking the life out of a recently resurgent Giants team trying to sneak into the playoffs.
Teoscar Hernández continued a recent surge with a team-high four hits, making him 11 for his last 24. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Michael Conforto each had three knocks, with Conforto’s day getting his batting average back to .200. As a team, the Dodgers combined for a whopping 16 singles while forcing 207 pitches from the Giants’ staff of arms. And most amazing, they did it with Shohei Ohtani reaching base only once, and that didn’t even happen until his sixth at-bat in the top of the ninth.
“It's quality at-bats, quality outs, moving guys over, getting sac flies, bringing defenses in if you move them over,” Freeman said. “It creates more traffic, more things that are able to happen on the baseball field. Just think the quality of at-bats have been really good over the last week."
The onslaught started in the second inning, when two walks and a Freeman single loaded the bases, setting up Kiké Hernández for a sacrifice fly. It continued in the third, when a pair of productive outs (plus a bobbled ground ball from San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman) turned singles from Betts and Teoscar Hernández into another hard-earned run.
Then, in the fifth, it all culminated in a four-run rally, one that knocked Giants starter Robbie Ray out of the game, and turned a low-scoring affair into a series rubber-match rout.
Freeman lined a double to right field, after Betts walked and Teoscar Hernández again singled. Conforto came off the bench for a two-run, pinch-hit, bases-loaded single that he managed to slap past a drawn-in infield. A run-scoring balk from reliever Joel Peguero added to the deluge, which included a pair of walks from Tommy Edman and Ben Rortvedt.
In the sixth, what was already a 6-1 lead was stretched a little further, with Miguel Rojas’ two-run single — with the bases loaded once more — putting the Dodgers’ sixth win in seven on ice. The Dodgers nonetheless added more runs in both the eighth and ninth, giving them their first back-to-back double-digit run totals since all the way back at the end of April.
The Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow pitched into the seventh inning on Sunday to pick up his second win in as many starts. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“It's definitely the kind of baseball we want to be playing down the stretch and for the rest of the season,” Conforto said. “I think we're doing a lot of the little things right. That's kind of been the theme as we finish up here.”
It all represented a new look from the Dodgers’ star-studded offense, with only one of their 23 runs the last two days requiring a ball to go over the fence.
For much of the year, the team has been overly reliant on home runs, scoring via the long ball at the fifth-highest percentage in the majors (45%) at the end of play Friday. During their second-half slide, that dynamic had prevented them from working around injuries and mechanical flaws from much of the lineup, or finding alternative ways to build big innings and hang crooked numbers.
Hence, their recent re-emphasis on more dependable fundamentals — allowing them to paper-cut an opposing pitching staff to death in a way that is typically for success in October.
“When you can be able to do it, and know you can do it, as we're leading up to that point [of the playoffs], it definitely is a big confidence booster,” Freeman said. “We don't have to rely on the two-run, three-run home run all the time. I think that was just big. The last week, [this is] what we've been trying to do. And we've been able to actually do it in the games."
On the mound, Tyler Glasnow was able to settle down after looking frustrated with his command early, when he walked four batters (and hit another) in his first three innings. At a point he has so often spiraled in his up-and-down Dodgers tenure, the right-hander instead found a rhythm by retiring 10 in a row, managing to pitch into the seventh in a 6 ⅔ inning, one-run outing.
“It’s encouraging,” said Glasnow, who has a 3.06 ERA on the season and a 2.66 mark since returning from a shoulder injury in July “Since I got back from the IL, it’s been easier to kind of put [those kind of struggles] out of my head and go compete. If my stuff sucks, it’s kind of whatever. Just compete, try to get in the zone, get some weak contact. It’s helpful."
It led to the kind of performance the Dodgers are banking on from their rotation in the playoffs. This is still a team that, at its core, will have to be carried by its pitching.
The only way that strength will matter, however, is if the lineup can find some long-awaited consistency. This weekend, signs of it finally arrived. Everything the Dodgers had been preaching at last came to fruition.
“As we come down to the end [of the season, we’re] just kind of recognizing what it is that really puts us in the right spot to win games,” Conforto said. “It's go time now, and we got to do all those things if we want to get to where we want to get to."
Nolan McLean just continues delivering quality innings for the Mets down the stretch in the playoff push.
With the team looking to end their dreadful eight-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, the rookie stepped up and put together six shutout innings in what ended as a walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers.
McLean did endure some early command issues, falling behind in the count to each of the game’s first five hitters, but that proved to be no issue as he struck out four and limited Texas to one baserunner over the first three innings.
He then allowed singles to Joc Pederson and Rowdy Tellez in the top of the fourth, but used a double play ball and his fourth punchout of the afternoon to escape the threat.
The Rangers were able to put two more runners on with two outs in the fifth thanks to a double and walk, but the youngster set down Wyatt Langford for his third strikeout of the afternoon to again dance out of danger.
McLean faced another threat in the sixth after a hit by pitch and a bloop single, but he used his second clutch double play of the afternoon to end his outing on a huge note.
Overall, he allowed just five hits and two walks while striking out seven across six frames.
“Nolan was impressive again,” Carlos Mendoza said. “It looks like they had a good game plan against his sweeper where they took some pitches early in counts, and they were aggressive on that pitch, and he recognized that and he started using the sinker and changeup to lefties.
“That's what makes this guy who he is -- not only does he have the stuff, but his ability to recognize what hitters are trying to do against him, he has a lot of weapons that he can go to at different times and in different counts, man it’s just super impressive.”
McLean is now the first Mets pitcher to not allow a run in their first three Citi Field starts.
His 1.19 ERA is the lowest mark in franchise history through ones first six big-league outings.
He's also tied with Dwight Gooden for the third-most strikeouts through six career starts (40).
Certainly, some prestigious company and impressive addition to the resume, though, McLean isn't focused on that.
“I’m not a huge stat guy,” he admitted. “I just try to go out and give my team the best chance to win every time.”
SAN FRANCISCO — With an MLB playoff spot on the line, the Giants are hoping their top prospect can help get them over the finish line.
First baseman Bryce Eldridge will join the team in Phoenix, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday night. It’s the final step in a meteoric rise for the 2023 first-round draft pick, who will debut a few weeks before his 21st birthday. The promotion first was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
Eldridge has an .836 OPS in Triple-A this season, with 18 homers in 66 games. He has 25 homers in 100 games across two levels this season, consistently showing the kind of power that has made him one of the top prospects in the minor leagues.
The Giants had hoped all along that Eldridge could spend the entire season in Triple-A and then compete for a big league job next spring, but the math changed over the weekend when Dominic Smith strained his hamstring and went on the IL. They struggled offensively in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers, failing to make up ground in the Wild Card race.
It’s unclear how the Giants will use Eldridge initially. Long term, they anticipate him splitting time at first base and DH with Rafael Devers, but for now, the lineup could use a boost.
The Giants likely will face five right-handed starters in seven days on this upcoming road trip, providing a nice landing spot for Eldridge, who has said since the spring that he wanted to debut in 2025.
SAN FRANCISCO — With an MLB playoff spot on the line, the Giants are hoping their top prospect can help get them over the finish line.
First baseman Bryce Eldridge officially has been called up by the Giants, the team announced Monday.
The 20-year-old Eldridge is batting fifth and will serve as the designated hitter in his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Chase Field.
A source confirmed the news of Eldridge’s promotion to NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday night. It’s the final step in a meteoric rise for the 2023 first-round draft pick, who will debut a few weeks before his 21st birthday. The move first was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
To make room for Eldridge on the roster, outfielder Luis Matos was optioned to Triple-A and infielder Brett Wiseley was designated for assignment.
Eldridge has an .836 OPS in Triple-A this season, with 18 homers in 66 games. He has 25 homers in 100 games across two levels this season, consistently showing the kind of power that has made him one of the top prospects in the minor leagues.
The Giants had hoped all along that Eldridge could spend the entire season in Triple-A and then compete for a big league job next spring, but the math changed over the weekend when Dominic Smith strained his hamstring and went on the IL. They struggled offensively in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers, failing to make up ground in the Wild Card race.
It’s unclear how the Giants will use Eldridge initially. Long term, they anticipate him splitting time at first base and DH with Rafael Devers, but for now, the lineup could use a boost.
The Giants likely will face five right-handed starters in seven days on this upcoming road trip, providing a nice landing spot for Eldridge, who has said since the spring that he wanted to debut in 2025.
“I’m not gonna lie, we needed that one,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
That they certainly did.
Things were looking bleak once again for Mendoza's Mets on Sunday afternoon. After Nolan McLean delivered six shutout innings, for a second-straight day, hopes of bringing the brutal losing streak to an end appeared on the cards. But, for a second straight day, New York’s bullpen let a slim advantage over the Texas Rangers slip.
Brooks Raley entered and gave up a single and hit a batter while getting two outs in the seventh, before turning things over to Reed Garrett, who walked another to load the bases, before allowing a game-tying single to Joc Pederson.
Tyler Rogers then put together a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz worked out of a jam in the ninth, thanks to a tremendous play from Francisco Lindor,snagging a liner before throwing to third for a double play, nabbing the would-be go-ahead runner.
Ryne Stanek followed that up with a strong inning of his own, striking out a pair to strand the ghost-runner in scoring position, then Pete Alonso delivered a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the tenth.
It was Alonso’s first long ball in 11 games, and the fifth game-winning shot of his career.
“Every walk-off homer is sick,” the slugger said. “There’s no way to rank that one, but awesome and a phenomenal feeling -- obviously, there was a lot of meaning to that one for where we are right now, so just super happy I was able to help the team.”
The losing skid now officially comes to an end at eight games.
That guarantees that New York will carry their slim advantage in the race for the third NL Wild Card spot heading into the second-to-last week of the regular season.
They’ll look to build off of this when they open a series Tuesday against the Padres.
“It was important, I’m not gonna lie, we needed that one,” Mendoza said.
“We need them all at this point,” Alonso added. “No matter if it’s today, tomorrow, or however many games we have left in the regular season, we need as many as we can -- just gotta do the best we can to stack them, I’m really glad that we got this one.”
Sunday might not have ended in a clubhouse champagne celebration and a clinch of the NL East for the Phillies but there’s still grounds to celebrate.
With the Dodgers’ 10-2 win over the Giants, the Phillies have officially secured their fourth straight trip to the playoffs.
They can send a quick thanks to the Dodgers before shifting gears Monday when the Phillies open up a three-game series in Los Angeles. There’s still a ton to play for, including a first-round bye, awarded to the top two seeds. The Phillies currently have a 4.5-game lead over the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed and are up 2-1 in the tiebreaker.
The Phillies’ magic number for securing the NL East sits at one. Clinching the division rests solely in the Phillies’ hands Monday as the Mets have the day off.
It’s simple, win and in. Or, since they’re already in … win and claim the division for the second straight season.
The Mets rallied to walk off the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
New York finally brought their eight-game losing streak to an end.
Here are some takeaways...
- After going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Saturday, the Mets picked up right where they left off in the early going of this one. Some wildness from Rangers lefty Jacob Latz gifted them a pair of golden opportunities in the first and second, but they were unable to take advantage and stranded five.
Latz retired the next six Mets in order, but they finally manufactured a run in the fifth, as Francisco Alvarez led off the inning with a double and then hustled home two batters later on Juan Soto's RBI groundout to first.
- Luckily for New York, Nolan McLean continued his tremendous start to his career. The young right-hander fell behind each of the first four batters he faced 2-0, but he rebounded nicely to limit Texas to just one baserunner while striking out four over the first three innings.
McLean gave up singles to Joc Pederson and Rowdy Tellez in the fourth, but he used a double play and his fourth punchout of the afternoon to escape the threat. He then picked up three more strikeouts in the fifth, the last of which was on a curveball to Wyatt Langford with two men on and two outs.
McLean found himself in danger after being handed the lead, as a hit by pitch and bloop single put runners on the corners with just one out, but he rolled another double play to end his day on a high note. He recorded another quality start, giving up five hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven across six shutout innings.
- Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets what appeared to be some big insurance, leading off the bottom of the sixth with an opposite-field solo home run -- it was Nimmo's 23rd long ball of the season, but just his first extra-base hit since the calendar flipped to September.
- For the second straight day, though, New York's bullpen entered and gave the lead right up. Brooks Raley retired two around a single and HBP in the seventh, before turning things over to Reed Garrett, who issued a walk and then gave up a game-tying two-run single to the lefty-hitting Pederson.
- Tyler Rogers put together a scoreless eighth, then Edwin Diaz came on and found himself in danger in the ninth. The Rangers pushed a man to third with just one out and Diaz somehow escaped, as Francisco Lindor plucked a liner just off the ground and threw to third for the double play.
- After the Mets went quietly in the bottom half of the ninth, Ryne Stanek struck out two to strand the ghost runner in the 10th, before Pete Alonso crushed an opposite-field three-run homer to secure the victory.
It's Alonso's fifth-career walk-off home run, the most in franchise history.
Patrick Hoffman is a superior journalist with an Argus eye for the Rangers.
The Man was asked for the shortest possible Rangers X-Ray and Hoffman delivered: Here's his September Song:
1. "Examining the Rangers, I find that there are more questions than answers:"
2. "One of the major questions is, do the Blueshirts have enough defensive depth? Frankly, I don't think so."
3. "What kind of impact will Mike Sullivan have on the team? History shows that – with Pittsburgh – he had trouble making the playoffs with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson in his lineup."
4. "My estimation is that Igor Shesterkin will bounce back, but I'm not sure about Jonathan Quick. He's getting up there in age and proved to be leaky throughout last season."
5. "Conclusion: "As of this writing, I see them as a bubble team!" Kudos to Pal Patrick for being fast, furious and – unlike the Rangers – infallible!
SAN FRANCISCO — At about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday evening, the Giants were feeling pretty good about their situation.
They took the field knowing the New York Mets had lost an eighth straight game then immediately went out and put four runs on Clayton Kershaw, whose path to Cooperstown is paved in part by years of dominance at Oracle Park. With their own ace on the mound, the Giants had a real opportunity to take control of the NL wild-card race.
Life, however, can come at you pretty fast this time of year.
At 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, the Giants walked off the field having lost a second straight game. Their two co-aces, moved up a day so that they both could face the Los Angeles Dodgers, combined to give up 11 runs over the weekend. Across the country on Sunday, the Mets got a walk-off homer from Pete Alonso, the type of swing they have been missing for weeks.
After a 10-2 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday, the Giants are 1.5 games back of the Mets, who hold the tiebreaker. They once again are chasing, hoping for a little bit of help, and also a lot more success next weekend at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s disappointing,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We were just talking about that [in the clubhouse]. We win the first game, we score four runs in the first inning yesterday — it feels pretty good. To be where we are today, it’s disappointing. It got away from us in a hurry.
“We gave up a lot of hits and a lot of runs to a team that makes you work. If you don’t throw it over the plate, they end up wearing you out.”
The Dodgers had 35 hits and 23 runs over the final two games of the series, and it appears they finally have flipped the switch after an inconsistent summer. That would be bad news for a Giants team that has four games at Dodger Stadium next weekend and once again will have to find a way to get to what right now is the hottest starting staff in the game.
Tyler Glasnow had allowed just one hit until the seventh on Sunday and ended up giving up one run on three hits. On Friday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one hit and struck out seven over 10 innings. His dominance wasn’t rewarded because Justin Verlander matched him and Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off grand slam.
The Giants used Thursday’s day off to move Logan Webb and Robbie Ray up a day to follow Verlander, and it didn’t pay off at all. Like Webb a day earlier, Ray was knocked out after allowing the first three runners to reach in the fifth inning.
Ray said he feels great physically and noted his fastball was as firm as it’s been all year. But he sprayed the ball around early, and the Dodgers will always make you pay for a lack of command.
“I felt, out of the stretch, a little bit like my front side was getting a little too quick. I was missing a lot arm-side,” Ray said. “I just wasn’t able to really get on top of it like I was out of the windup. I was just kind of fighting that all day, really.”
The Giants hoped that moving Webb and Ray up could lead to a huge weekend. Instead, they’ll now try to figure out how to get through a series at Chase Field, where the Arizona Diamondbacks are still very much alive. They were the only team in the jumbled wild-card mess to win their weekend series, and they’ll enter this week just half a game behind the Giants.
None of this will be easy, at least until the Giants get to their final series against the Colorado Rockies. To make sure that one counts, they’ll need to fare better against Dodger pitching. They’re going to see Yamamoto, Kershaw and Glasnow again next weekend, and also could face young right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who is throwing well and has had plenty of success against the Giants early in his career.
Melvin said the staff would get together and discuss whether a change is needed next weekend. There’s not much you can do when Yamamoto is hitting his spots, but Glasnow was wild in the early innings on Sunday and the Giants couldn’t take advantage.
“You’re always in between, whether or not you want to make him work or try to get that fastball early in the count. Nothing really worked today,” Melvin said. “We’ll talk about changing our approach. We have to do something different.”
It goes without saying that the Giants also will have to pitch a lot better next weekend. Webb and Ray will get another shot at the Dodgers, and the latter didn’t think there would be any carryover. He has been in this division a long time and had good starts at Dodger Stadium as well as rough ones.
Next week’s games were always going to be huge, but there’s a bit of added pressure after a rough 48 hours at Oracle Park. The Giants didn’t lose any ground to the Mets this weekend, but they did lose three days on the calendar, and right now that’s just as important.
“It’s frustrating obviously, but we’re still in it,” Ray said. “We’re a resilient team. We’ve shown that we’re able to bounce back from stuff like this. We’ve just got to put this behind us, go on the road and win one game at a time.”
The Phillies’ division-clinching champagne is on hold.
The club couldn’t record an NL East-sealing seventh consecutive win Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, falling to a 10-3 loss to the Royals.
A Mets loss would’ve been sufficient for the Phils to clinch, but New York snapped an eight-game skid Sunday with a 5-2 victory in 10 innings over the Rangers.
Aaron Nola faltered in the middle innings as the Phillies looked to polish off a second straight division title. The 32-year-old righty pitched six innings and allowed six hits and six runs. He struck out five and walked one.
Kyle Schwarber gave the Phils a first-inning edge when he smoked a first-pitch jack to left-center field off of Royals lefty Noah Cameron. He’s now at 52 homers, six shy of Ryan Howard’s all-time franchise mark set in 2006.
Two batters later, J.T. Realmuto slugged away on another first pitch and went yard.
Coming off of six scoreless innings his last outing, Nola retired the first nine Royals in order. Kansas City swung freely and Nola’s command was sharp. He threw strikes on 24 of his first 29 pitches, established his fastball early and threw high-quality curveballs at the right moments.
Nola’s smooth sailing didn’t continue forever. Michael Massey walked to lead off the fifth inning. With one out, Jac Caglianone belted a Nola curve 404 feet to right-center for a game-tying home run.
The Phils managed a baserunner in the second, third and fourth innings but couldn’t score. Cameron tossed a 1-2-3 fifth.
Kansas City hammered Nola in the sixth. The Royals hit for the cycle in the inning and built a 6-2 lead on Salvador Perez’s three-run homer.
They tacked on a couple more runs in the seventh against Tim Mayza and ultimately eased to a blowout win. Perez kept rolling, poking a two-RBI knock to right.
Cameron quieted the Phillies’ bats through seven innings. After five straight games with double-digit hits, the Phils only had five Sunday.
One more road trip
The 89-61 Phillies will travel to Los Angeles for a three-game series with the Dodgers that starts Monday night. They’ll then head to Arizona and play a three-game set against the Diamondbacks.
Phils manager Rob Thomson wants to secure a postseason bye and try to beat out the Brewers for the National League’s No. 1 seed. Milwaukee entered Sunday two games in front of the Phillies.
Turner ‘looks like he’s ahead of schedule’
Trea Turner took ground balls and hit off a tee Sunday. Thomson is encouraged by his progress as he rehabs from a Grade 1 right hamstring strain.
“I hate to say it, but it looks like he’s ahead of schedule,” Thomson said. “You hear that all the time, but he’s doing really well.”
Thomson also noted that Alec Bohm (left shoulder inflammation) felt “really good” Sunday as he ramped up his rehab. The Phillies are hopeful Edmundo Sosa (right groin tightness) will return to action Tuesday.
The Phillies’ division-clinching champagne is on hold.
The club couldn’t record an NL East-sealing seventh consecutive win Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, falling to a 10-3 loss to the Royals.
A Mets loss would’ve been sufficient for the Phils to clinch, but New York snapped an eight-game skid with a 5-2 victory in 10 innings over the Rangers. The Phillies watched the bottom of the ninth and 10th innings from the clubhouse. Pete Alonso’s walk-off home run confirmed they wouldn’t celebrate Sunday.
Aaron Nola faltered in the middle innings as the Phillies looked to polish off a second straight division title. The 32-year-old righty pitched six innings and allowed six hits and six runs. He struck out five and walked one.
Kyle Schwarber gave the Phils a first-inning edge when he smoked a first-pitch jack to left-center field off of Royals lefty Noah Cameron. He’s now at 52 homers, six shy of Ryan Howard’s all-time franchise mark set in 2006.
Two batters later, J.T. Realmuto slugged away on another first pitch and went yard.
Coming off of six scoreless innings his last outing, Nola retired the first nine Royals in order. Kansas City swung freely and Nola’s command was sharp. He threw strikes on 24 of his first 29 pitches, established his fastball early and threw high-quality curveballs at the right moments.
Nola’s smooth sailing didn’t continue forever. Michael Massey walked to lead off the fifth inning. With one out, Jac Caglianone belted a Nola curve 404 feet to right-center for a game-tying home run.
The Phils managed a baserunner in the second, third and fourth innings but couldn’t score. Cameron tossed a 1-2-3 fifth.
Kansas City hammered Nola in the sixth. The Royals hit for the cycle in the inning and built a 6-2 lead on Salvador Perez’s three-run homer.
“Just the one big inning,” Nola said when asked about what he wants to clean up before the playoffs. “It’s kind of hit me all year this year.”
The Royals tacked on a couple more runs in the seventh against Tim Mayza and ultimately eased to a blowout win. Perez kept rolling, poking a two-RBI knock to right.
Cameron quieted the Phillies’ bats through seven innings. After five straight games with double-digit hits, the Phils only had five Sunday.
One more road trip
The 89-61 Phillies will travel to Los Angeles for a three-game series with the Dodgers that starts Monday night. They’ll then head to Arizona and play a three-game set against the Diamondbacks.
Phils manager Rob Thomson wants to secure a postseason bye and try to beat out the Brewers for the National League’s No. 1 seed. Milwaukee is two games in front of the Phillies.
“They’re big,” Thomson said of the Dodgers games on deck. “You’ve got the bye that’s involved, and they’re a good club and we’re going to their place, which is going to be raucous. It’s a big series.”
Turner ‘looks like he’s ahead of schedule’
Trea Turner took ground balls and hit off a tee Sunday. Thomson is encouraged by his progress as he rehabs from a Grade 1 right hamstring strain.
“I hate to say it, but it looks like he’s ahead of schedule,” Thomson said. “You hear that all the time, but he’s doing really well.”
Thomson also noted that Alec Bohm (left shoulder inflammation) felt “really good” Sunday as he ramped up his rehab. The Phillies are hopeful Edmundo Sosa (right groin tightness) will return to action Tuesday.
SAN FRANCISCO — There was some good news for the Giants this weekend. They did get the help they needed.
The Cincinnati Reds got swept up the road in Sacramento, and the New York Mets lost two of three to Bruce Bochy’s Texas Rangers. The National League wild-card race is still wide open, but the Giants weren’t able to capitalize as others struggled.
They got blown out Sunday, losing 10-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers and dropping the series after a thrilling win Friday night. With 13 games remaining, the Giants are 1.5 games back of the Mets, who hold the tiebreaker.
After walking it off Friday, the Giants had Logan Webb and Robbie Ray going for a series win. But both had disappointing outings.
Ray and Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow both struggled with their command early on, but Glasnow found a way to settle in. Ray didn’t make it out of the fifth.
The left-hander walked four, and when the final one was followed by a single and a double, the Dodgers were off and running. For a second straight day, they exploded in the fifth inning. This time it was a Michael Conforto single that was the big hit, and a fourth run scored in the inning on a balk by Joel Peguero, who appeared to be having issues with his PitchCom.
The Giants now will travel to Phoenix for a big three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks before visiting Dodger Stadium. Here are three things to know from the final day of a 3-3 homestand.
Well, That Didn’t Work
The Giants took advantage of the off day on Thursday to slide Webb and Ray up a day and have them both face the Dodgers. That could pay off ultimately, as it will allow Webb to pitch Game 162 on short rest if the Giants need a win that day, but it certainly didn’t help in this series.
A day after Webb left with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth, Ray was knocked out after allowing the first three Dodgers to reach in the fifth. Combined, the co-aces gave up 11 runs and pitched just eight innings in the two games. Ray was charged with five earned on Sunday and walked four, and it could have been worse early on. He walked three in the second inning and loaded the bases for Shohei Ohtani, but he blew a fastball past him to temporarily get back on track.
Ray had good velocity, hitting 96 mph a couple of times in the first, but he sprayed the ball most of the afternoon. He threw just 58 of 98 pitches for strikes.
Starting Off
If the Giants want to get to the MLB playoffs, they’re going to have to have a solid series at Dodger Stadium next week. If they do make it, they might end up going right back to Los Angeles for the wild-card round. At some point, they’ll need to figure out the Dodgers’ starting pitching, which is no easy task.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 and allowed just one hit on Friday, and Glasnow gave up just one run on three hits on Sunday. In between, the Giants did get to Clayton Kershaw.
If the Dodgers stick to their current rotation plans, the Giants will see all three again next weekend, along with young right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who has allowed just two hits in 15 career innings against the Giants.
#RevengeSeason
Conforto entered the day with a .194 average and .632 OPS. His first season in Dodger blue has been a rough one, but man, he loves facing the Giants.
Conforto homered on Friday night and came off the bench Sunday for a back-breaking single through a drawn-in infield. In six games at Oracle Park this season, he went 9-for 18 with two homers and seven RBI. Last season as a Giant, Conforto hit .216 at Oracle Park with two homers and 15 RBI in 58 appearances. He has driven in more runs against the Giants (seven) this year than anyone else.
